This card reminds me a little of the 6 of Swords.
There are some fairly obvious similarities.

Here we have a dark blue 'road' moving away into the distance. The road is a straight one and is lined with 6 golden cups; 3 on either side.
On the road we see 2 interlinked trails of liquid which are being poured from 2 up-tipped cups in the foreground.
The interlinked trails of liquid seem perfectly symmetrical and almost look like a helix shape.
The final 'link' almost looks as if it could form the shape of a love heart.

This card makes me think of a meandering emotional journey.
I like the fact that the 2 streams of liquid look balanced and symmetrical as that links this card to it's Major Arcana numerical equivalent card, Justice.
You get out what you put in so to get emotional fulfillment you have to invest emotionally.

With the eights there are 2 lots of 4 so double the stability and yet there is movement too.
Think of the number eight, the shape of it. There is movement around and around but it also looks like a solid number and the 2 halves are very well balanced.
Eights are about movement to find a balance and that's what this card makes me think of too.
There is some sort of emotional imbalance after the upset of the 7 and with the eights we move to put this right.
We organise our feelings.

I think this card is a very complex one and I'm really looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts about it.

juxtaposed against the 4/cups (being stuck, stagnation, lack of motivation and movement) the 8/cups signals the relief sought from the oppression of the 4.

the intertwining flow reminds me of the caduceus which is a symbol of the God Hermes, who amongst other things, is the guider of souls into the realm of Hades. (appropriately, he is also the patron of travelers).

The caduceus (old alchemical symbol) was originally the staff of Tiresias who is famous for being transformed into a woman.

Hermes/Hierophant/Pontifex (bridge builder)

so here is transformation as we leave our former selves and journey towards a new destiny.

edited:

so we also see here the creative/transformative power of the Ace of Wands ie staff of Moses/Aaron etc.

It does look like a caduceus doesn't it? I don't know why I didn't see that.

The caduceus is the symbol of The British Medical Foundation and many other healing organisations throughout the world so it's a healing symbol as well.

And this is a healing card.
It's often about leaving an emotionally unfulfilling situation and going in search of fulfillment, so going in search of emotional healing..

btw.........the adoption of the caduceus as a medical symbol was a gross error.
the correct symbol should have been the the staff of the healer Aesclepius (sp?) staff with one snake.

at the turn of the century, the caduceus was adopted by the medical branch of the U.S. military (why are such decisions put in the hands of militarists?)
the mistake was later acknowledged but never corrected......on top of which, a publisher of medical text books used the caduceus as their company logo (messenger of the Gods etc) which only furthered the misconception.

When I first looked at this card, it came across as difficult. I wasn't sure I could 'get it' and what it was trying to say. It is quite complex isn't it?

Like Sulis, I saw the similarity with the 6 of Swords, the path... to me that connected it to movement. The water flowing down, looks continuous and made me think of a release of emotions that had been previously bottled up.

In some respects this card also reminds me of the 2 of Cups, only the two cups are no longer crossed and that knot that once held together is now draining away. Which connected it with separation, a relationship breakdown. The feeling of being emotionally drained or wasting emotions. When a relationship breaks up sometimes it is accompanied with feelings of having wasted time and emotions.

Maybe it has something to do with the 6 cups being lined up down the sides of the path, but I felt like the path forward wasn't into the card but out of it. If that makes sense? This is what is behind you, you take one last look and move away from this. To stay reflecting on what is lost, or down the drain, will only cause sorrow and regret.

I sometimes see the 8 of cups as something that you don't necessarily want to do, but have to as the situation is no longer fulfilling or good for your growth. I feel that you have woken up from the dream like state of the 7 and realised you have been asleep in your own life, or daydreaming it away, or clinging to a dream that cannot be realised. The 8 is the wake up call.

Although these paths are intertwined, they can untwine, too. The future is unclear insofar as once you're off the edge of the page, so to speak, it's possible that the life/liquid in one cup will meander in a different direction than the life/liquid from another. When I first saw this card, I thought of a couple growing older together and growing apart -- no longer feeling as if they HAD to be together --but still married, still "checking in" with one another. There's "breathing space" between the two, and freedom for one or both to wander off, although my feeling is also...I hope not.

Well I just want to say that I'm really enjoying this study.. I think we're getting so many insights from each other, it's excellent

I did a reading for someone the other day and this card came up and it just fitted how she'd been feeling so well.
This lady is emerging from some very trying times and this card reminded her that she's on an emotional journey and it's a meandering one, no straight lines were the emotions are concerned.
It gave her strength to know that the ups and downs she's experiencing are normal but that if she actually looks at where she is now, compared to where she was a few months ago, she's definitely made progress; wibbly wobbly progress but she's moved forward none-the-less.

Enchanted I really like what you said about the emotions flowing that had previously been bottled up

This lady is emerging from some very trying times and this card reminded her that she's on an emotional journey and it's a meandering one, no straight lines were the emotions are concerned.

That's the feeling I get from this card. Emotions waxing and waning, not static at all. At first it struck me as odd, because I'm used to the RWS image of someone going away from you, setting out on a journey. This card has the cups and water flowing towards you, giving it a feeling of being closer to arriving.

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